Accell’s Chairman Calms Down Dutch Staff

TÓSZEG, Hungary (April 25) - Dutch Accell Group's Employees Council reacted surprisingly astonished on the report on this web page about possible production movements to its new 'Hunland' (acronym for Hungary-Holland) site in Hungary yesterday. Accell Group chairman René Takens, while working on-site at the Hungarian plant in progress, had to calm down his own Employees Council back at the Batavus bicycle factory in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, by phone. "During our annual shareholder's meeting on April 18, I answered several questions about the new production site in Hungary", he said. "Mentioned is, that possible future investment (and production) expansions will take place in Hungary, rather than in the Netherlands", Takens acknowledged. "But there will be no production movements from the Netherlands to Hungary." Takens told Bike Europe, that a dismantlement of the Dutch production sites would turn out to be far too expensive, too big for a pay-off. "This is the reason, why this option is not actual", Takens concluded. Accell Group's Employees Council is officially committed to 'do everything possible to keep Accell's Dutch production activities within the Netherlands'. No ACCELL-eration to Hungary today? Maybe tomorrow.(FN)